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• Plot Synopses

Dr. Janus...................John Anderson
Clark.......................Paul Carr
Dr. Andrew Benton...........Howard Wendell

Lee, we're just asking for trouble.--Chip Morton
Asking for it? We're begging for it!--Lee Crane

Somewhere, in a laboratory, two men are watching as a sophisticated piece of scientific equipment does its work. The older, Dr. Benton, looks into a microscope and says "We're almost there." As the machine increases in intensity, the younger scientist, Dr. Janus, appears concerned, but his colleague is too excited to worry. "The element is becoming unstable," says Janus. Benton replies that it has been unstable before, but Janus backs away from the machine, pulling Benton with him. Benton breaks away and runs toward the machine; it explodes and both men fall to the floor.

On the dock at NIMR, seamen are busily loading the Seaview for her next mission. In the laboratory on board, Janus shows Nelson a slide, saying that it may seem to be a simple single-celled protozoa, but it's actually a very complicated organism, and he and Dr. Benton were very close to discovering its secrets. Crane enters and Janus thanks him for loading his equipment on board. Nelson comments on the remarkable feat of creating the protozoa under laboratory conditions. Janus says that unfortunately the organism lived only for a moment; Crane is impressed that it lived at all, but Janus insists that there is much more to be done, that with the knowledge they can gain from this research, there'll be no reason to allow human beings to be born deformed. Now that the preliminary laboratory work is done, they must go to the place where life began to obtain the basic material of human life. Crane asks for an exact position, but when Nelson gives him the coordinates he is apprehensive. Nelson concedes that it is a rough piece of ocean, and Crane replies that it's the most treacherous piece of ocean on the charts. He asks Janus if there isn't somewhere else that might suit his needs, and Janus says there is no other place like it. If they are to recreate life as it existed four billion years ago, this is the place they must go. Crane turns to Nelson, who says that it is worth the risk. They set sail.

In the lab, Nelson notes the amount of power the generator is putting out; Janus says that they will need it--after all, he says, "it's no small matter speeding up the entire process of evolution."

Upon reaching the coordinates, Crane tells Morton to take the ship down, leveling off at 200 feet. Soon the ship rocks back and forth. "Keep a steady grip on that wheel," says Crane, "We're heading into forty miles of bad road."

Clark comes to the control room in a new officer's uniform, straightening his tie. Crane asks if it's already time for his watch; Clark says that those four hours off go by quickly, and Crane agrees. He tells Clark that they are on course now, so he's just to keep it steady. When Crane shows him their destination, Clark is horrified--that area is unsafe! Naval submarines need special permission to go there. Crane replies that they are not in the Navy. "That doesn't give us a license to commit suicide," says Clark. Crane tells Clark that, as one of their new junior officers, he still has a lot to learn about the way the Seaview works. Clark tells Crane that his older brother was on the submarine Sea Lion, one of the last ships to go into this area; pretty soon they'll be seeing its wreckage spread throughout the trench. Crane insists that Nelson has set the course and they will follow it. Clark backs down but is obviously very worried.

Later, Clark enters Nelson's cabin, telling him that he must call off the mission. Impatiently, Nelson orders Clark back to his post and turns back to his work. Clark stays, telling Nelson about his brother. Nelson says that he is sorry about that, and again orders him back to work, saying that he will listen to Clark's objections if he goes through official channels. Clark, agitated, says that by then it will be too late. Nelson throws down his pencil and relieves Clark of duty, telling him to confine himself to his cabin. Clark says that he has already changed the course. Nelson is furious, and calls Chief Jones to his quarters to escort Clark to the brig.

In the control room, Morton asks Crane what happened to Clark. Crane doesn't know, and never would have expected it. Will it mean his job? wonders Morton. Crane hopes not. Morton, still confused, says "But he's no coward." Crane replies that it has nothing to do with cowardice--more like an emotional breakdown. "It's hard to blame him for cracking up; I hope he gets over it," says Morton. "I hope we all do," replies Crane.

As they approach the coordinates, the seas become rougher; debris passes by in the surrounding waters, and the Seaview rocks violently. Crane orders Morton to take the ship down. The Seaview settles on the ocean floor, and Crane descends the stairs to the observation nose, where Nelson and Janus are working. He tells them that the ship's seisomograph is still reporting dangerous conditions, and to make things worse, a pressure system is building. The trench they are resting in could collapse under them at any time, he says, glancing pointedly at Janus. Nelson admits that it is beginning to look bad--but not bad enough to leave. Janus looks out the window, calling it "the beginning--the cradle of the deep." Crane snaps that to submarine commanders, it's the coffin of the deep. Janus says that if the situation is dangerous, it just means that they should start to gather the crucial elements sooner. Appealing once more to Nelson, Crane asks if this mission is really important enough to justify the great risk. Nelson thinks for a moment, then says that it is.

Nelson and Janus put on diving gear and exit the Seaview. Crane watches from the observation nose; Morton enters with more seismographic data--still nothing but bad news. They watch the divers swim by.

Nelson and Janus quickly get to work gathering the elements necessary to continue the research, and return to the ship. They immediately examine the samples in the light of the missile room, and Janus says they must get them to the energizer right away.

In the control room, Crane and Morton review the lastest seismographic readings, which are bad and getting worse by the minute.

Crane visits Clark in the brig; Clark is terrified--he realizes that the ship isn't moving, and asks where they are. Crane tells him, and Clark insists that they cannot stay there. Crane asks Clark what is wrong with him--he's never seen him panic like this before. Clark says that he knows that his behavior may ruin his career, but he doesn't care. Crane wants to understand why Clark is acting this way, but all Clark will say is that they have to get out of there. Crane leaves, telling Clark that he's sending the doctor down to give him a sedative.

In the laboratory, Janus refers to the work they are doing as Benton's achievement. Nelson tells him that it is his achievement as well, but Janus insists that the work was Benton's and he was just lucky to have found the necessary elements. He looks into the microscope, saying that the energizer has done its initial work, and now they can only wait. Nelson looks into the microscope as Crane enters the room; Nelson tells Crane to look--it's remarkable. Instead, Crane hands Nelson the most recent seismographic printout. Nelson looks at it, and asks Janus how long the gestation period of the organism is; Janus replies that the Seaview must remain perfectly still for 24 hours. Crane asks how that will be possible when the ocean floor all around them is in motion. The ship rocks, as if in confirmation. Janus looks in the microscope, saying that all seems to be well. Crane replies that all is not well; the seismographic data indicates the possibility of a seaquake that could trigger an avalanche, burying the Seaview. Nelson thinks for a moment, wondering if they could be sure that the Seaview's normal vibrations as it moved would not disturb the experiment. Janus says that they can never be sure. Crane says to forget about the experiment--they are in enough trouble as it is without having to worry about Janus' element becoming unstable. Of course that is unacceptable to both Janus and Nelson; Nelson asks Janus if he's sure that the special cradle the element is resting in will absorb the shocks from the ocean floor. When Janus replies that he is, Nelson says that it would also muffle the vibrations of the ship if they move slowly and carefully. Reluctantly Janus agrees that it would. Crane asks again if Janus is certain that the element is showing no signs of instability; when Janus says that it is not, Nelson tells Crane to take the ship up to a safe area, slow and easy.

Later, in the empty laboratory, the liquid element bubbles, boiling away to reveal a sphere the size of a golf ball. The sphere grows quickly, bursting its container.

The Seaview sets sail, setting course for home. Soon, the ship is rocking in the rough waters. In the brig, Clark clutches the bars, looking out desperately.

The ship suffers hull damage in the rough seas and starts taking on water; they head for a nearby platform to make repairs.

Kowalski and several other crewmen work to stop a large leak; Crane goes to help. He calls Nelson, telling him that the leak has been stopped for now. Nelson replies that he wants the outer hull repaired by morning.

In the laboratory, Janus stares at the element. Nelson and Crane enter. The element is emitting a sound something like a heartbeat, but otherwise the room is silent. Finally Janus speaks; he doesn't understand it, but this is wonderful--overnight, it turned completely into matter. Nelson, too, is delighted, but Crane wants to know just how big it will get before it stops growing. Janus, preoccupied, doesn't know but doesn't seem worried. Nelson says that they will figure out the rate of growth using the Seaview's computer; the mass appears to be about the size of a football at present.

According to the computer, the mass is doubling in size every three hours, and its weight is multiplying many times faster than that. Crane insists that they must destroy it before it's too late. Janus appeals to Nelson, who says that if it is at all possible they must get the organism to NIMR for further study. Crane asks how they are to accomplish that with a damaged hull--the repairs are only temporary. Nelson is annoyed, and feels that Crane is overreacting. He asks Morton how long it would take to get home; Morton estimates 40 hours or so--at best 37 or 38 hours. Nelson asks how long it would take if they ran at full the entire time. Morton says that the reactors would burn out; Nelson says that although they weren't built for that sort of treatment, they could try. At full speed, it would take about 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the element is still growing at its incredible rate. Alone in the laboratory, its weight collapses the table it was resting on.

Later, Nelson and Janus are at work in the lab. Crane enters the room anxiously. The growth rate has remained constant; the huge mass glows and throbs, almost as if it were breathing. Nelson says that if they continue to travel at top speed, they should reach NIMR in plenty of time.

In the control room, Crane enters and asks Morton if all is well. Morton replies that Nelson may be right--they may be able to reach port in time after all. Crane says that they've been on their way for ten hours now. Morton says "I've got ten hours left to go, you go get some sleep." Crane says that he'll stay for a while; "Not on my watch, you won't," replies Morton, "You go get some sleep!" Crane smiles, says "Aye, aye sir!" and goes to his cabin.

In the morning, Crane enters the control room, greets Morton, and stops short. A crewman is slumped over his control panel, asleep, and Morton is sitting on the floor, pensively twirling a pencil. Crane grabs the sleeping crewman's shoulder and he leans back, smiling. Crane looks over to see two other crewmen, also grinning at him and none too steady in their seats. He goes to Morton, whose speech is slurred and whose bearing is unprofessional, to say the least. He looks at the charts--they are in practically the same place as they were last night! Morton has been driving in circles. Now they will never get back to NIMR in time! Morton does his best to present a serious demeanor, but it's no use, and he can't help breaking into a grin. Crane stops talking to him, realizing that he isn't getting through.

In the laboratory, the mass has gotten large enough to occupy quite a bit of the room.

Crane tries to get the control room crew to work but they simply don't have the concentration. He goes to Morton, who is singing something about going around in circles, and shouts at him. Nelson enters and asks Crane what the problem is. Crane, disgusted, points at the crewmen and says that they are either drunk or have gone off the deep end. He orders the day crew to the control room as Nelson calls the doctor to the bridge. The members of the day crew enter and take their posts as the night crew heads for sickbay.

Janus enters the laboratory and sees that the mass is now very large indeed; he closes the door behind him and approaches it.

In sickbay, the night crew lie in bunks, wearing oxygen masks, as Nelson and the doctor work and Crane looks on. Nelson looks into the microscope; Morton's blood sample shows a high nitrogen count--the "drunk" crewmen were suffering the effects of oxygen deprivation.

Kowalski brings Clark his dinner in the brig, and asks if he needs anything. Clarks wants to know what's going on; Kowalski laughs--he doesn't know, but the entire night watch crew is in the sickbay--scuttlebutt says that it has something to do with Dr. Janus's experiment.

Nelson and Crane confront Janus--the element is feeding on oxygen, and the entire crew would have been affected if they hadn't been asleep. Crane is all for killing the organism immediately and dumping it overboard. Just then, the Seaview rocks; they are losing trim, and the reactor is giving out--they prepare to land on the ocean floor.

As they land, Clark punches the distracted Kowalski, knocking him out. He leaves the brig and goes down the hall, entering the laboratory. He sees Janus and tells him that they have to kill the organism, picking up a stool to hit it. Janus grabs him, and the two struggle.

In the brig, Kowalski comes around, sees that Clark is gone, and goes to the lab, where Clark has overcome Janus and is about to attack the organism. Kowalski hits Clark, knocking him out, and rescues Janus.

In the control room, Crane and Nelson discuss the situation. They haven't enough power even to lift the Seaview itself, much less maintain trim with the weight of the organism throwing them off balance. Morton comes into the room and apologizes for his earlier behavior; the oxygen problem is being taken care of by air filtration.

Nelson and Crane go to the observation nose, where Janus waits, looking out the window. Nelson tells him that the organism must be destroyed. Janus, hoping for a less drastic solution, says that he'll stop the growth but refuses to kill it. He says it's almost as if...Nelson breaks in, saying it is not almost as if Janus created it. Man does not create life, and the organism must be destroyed. Beaten, Janus agrees and says he will help in any way he can. Nelson suggests concentrating on the fact that the organism feeds on oxygen and converts it into matter. Philosophically, Janus muses that after all his searching to discover why it took billions of years for humanity to evolve from protozoa, he now knows why--adaptability. The organism in the laboratory doesn't have that.

Crane suggests sealing off the lab and cutting off oxygen to the organism. Janus isn't sure that that will work--there's no way of knowing how long it can survive on what it already has. Nelson asks about the organism's chemical makeup--an overdose of which element would kill it the most quickly? Carbon, says Janus.

They gather tanks of CO₂. There is a risk that the oxygen will cause the mass to grow more quickly; Nelson hopes that the carbon will stop it first.

Janus and Nelson, armed with CO₂ cylinders, prepare to enter the lab. Crane suggests that they'd have a better chance with three of them, but Nelson says that if anything happens to them it's up to him. Nelson and Janus enter the room and spray the organism, wondering if it will absorb the chemicals--it does. Janus moves behind it; they'll feed it CO₂ from two directions. They spray, and suddenly Janus calls for Nelson. There are flashes of light, and the organism explodes, sending Nelson through the door into the corridor. Crane helps him to his feet. The creature is dead, and the Seaview will be able to return to port, but Janus is dead.

Later, in the observation nose, Crane wonders why Benton and Janus both had to die for their work. There are so many things there are no answers for, he says; maybe it's better that way.